Gary Player was right when it comes to gambling

Gary Player, the man in black, famously said, "The more I practice, the luckier I get." I never totally warmed to this outlook as the sportsmen I most admired, think of Tony Currie, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Lord Botham, C.B.Fry (no I did not watch him in person), Hurricane Higgins, George Best, Matthew Le Tissier, Alan Hudson, Barry John and even John Robertson (the great crosser of the ball - between fags - in Brian Clough's European Cup winning Notts Forest side) , sometimes gave the impression of not necessarily practicing that much and yet still being brilliant. Added to that when I went through a phase of playing golf regularly in my twenties (just after CB Fry turned down the chance to be King of Albania) I found the more I practiced the unluckier I got.

However when it comes to betting on the sport I know most about, horse racing, then undoubtedly Mr Player was onto something. The more research and attention I pay to form, videos of races, studying particular stables and jockeys for patterns and reading and listening to informed opinion, then the more successful the staking proves to be.

This month's bad punting patch has undoubtedly coincided with other work (delivering trees and compost - it is in great demand you know, indeed supplies of mushroom compost have dried up completely) making it impossible to follow horse racing as much as normal. However I have still bet as much as normal, relying more on less study and blindly following horses in the tracker with predictable results - losers.

Yes after timing I know but I think I may have thrown a few quid at Big 'N Better in the 1.40 at Fontwell yesterday. Mark Goldstein is underrated and yet is really good round the West Sussex track, and when Michael Madgwick has a winner it is often at a big price. Watching the race on catch-up was a distressing sight as the horse won relatively easily at odds of 100/1.

I am off work today and am still keen on Cherry Cola in the 4.10 at Warwick. First run after a wind op so if not today next time at least. My other studies have led me to Hurricane Bay in the last at Warwick (5.50). This is Bryony Frost's only ride of the day. Trainers she normally rides for have horses running elsewhere but she goes there for this. My only concern is that Bryony is a much better rider, in this armchair jockey's opinion, over fences when she gets horses jumping and judges pace so well. Her style does not necessarily suit bumpers but maybe even that fact is a tip in itself.